Scrapyard

As July arrived, the temperature in various places began to rise.

Due to its geographical location, the heat in Ningcheng during the day gradually dissipates by evening. By night, a cool breeze sweeps through, making it feel like early spring.

As a special economic zone that has been a key focus of national development in recent years, Ningcheng has undergone rapid changes. However, while high-rise buildings have sprung up, many local residents, unable to keep pace with the city’s development, are left to live in underdeveloped areas.

This area could be described in modern terms as an urban village on the outskirts of a thriving city.

The people in the urban village engage in all kinds of work, and even running a small shop is considered a good life.

In the morning, the streets are lined with stalls selling all kinds of goods. The scent of buns and fried dough sticks fills the air, tempting people to pull out their wallets to make a purchase. By night, the area turns into a bustling night market.

A girl, looking to be around thirteen or fourteen years old, watched a squid sizzling on an iron grill not far away. After swallowing, she tightened her grip on the paper box in her hands and turned in the direction opposite to the night market.

She walked for about twenty minutes, until the scent of food was replaced by a strange, indescribable odor in the air. Then, she gradually slowed her pace.

She arrived at a shabby wooden door with two large red lanterns hanging on it. After adjusting the box in her hands, she politely knocked on the door with one hand.

Above the door was a worn-out wooden sign engraved with the words “Scrapyard.”

Soon, a soft voice came from behind the door, “The door is not closed, you can come in.”

The girl adjusted her grip on the paper box and gently kicked open the wooden door.

The scene before her was simple. Half of the yard was filled with various scraps: from small discarded cardboard to old cars that could no longer be repaired. The other half of the yard had a few large plastic tubs. The orange-yellow light from the house behind filtered through the windows and shone on the water surface in the tubs, reflecting the face of a man sitting in front, washing things.

The man had a handsome appearance, with eyebrows that were neither too thick nor too thin, and almond-shaped eyes. Below them was a sharp nose, with lips that appeared particularly red against his fair skin. His slightly rounded jaw softened his otherwise sharp demeanor, giving him a cold, clean appearance.

At that moment, he was crouched on a four-legged plastic stool, wearing rubber waterproof gloves that he had gotten cheaply, scrubbing iron sheets in a tub of water.

He wore a thin white shirt and black casual pants, with a loose pink apron tied around his waist.

Overall, he looked like a professional cleaning worker.

The girl walked a few steps forward and crouched beside him. In a low voice, she called out, “A-Yan, I need your help with something.”

The man, called A-Yan, gave a soft response, acknowledging her request, but his gaze never left the tub, still focused on his task.

A-Yan, named Yan Heqing, had a mild obsession with cleanliness. Even though his job involved collecting scrap, he could not tolerate the dirt on the items.

For paper scraps, he would spray disinfectant. For non-paper scraps, he would wash them all.

At this point, the girl lifted the paper box in her hands and said, “A-Yan, look, I found this little bird in front of my house when I came back from school today. It’s injured, but I can’t keep it at home. If my parents see it, they’ll throw it away.”

Hearing her, Yan Heqing stopped his work, set aside what he was doing, and looked into the box she was holding.

Inside was a small bird, all red in color, lying quietly due to its injuries, with a piece of old cloth beneath it that the girl had prepared.

Judging by its appearance, this bird wasn’t a type commonly seen in Ningcheng. In fact, it shouldn’t even exist in this world according to all logical reasoning.

Yan Heqing raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, “DuoDuo, are you sure you found this bird in front of your house?”

DuoDuo nodded, “Yes, I was walking back from school with my friend, and we both saw it. I asked my friend if she could keep it, but she said she couldn’t, so I decided to take it for now.”

Yan Heqing nodded, took off his rubber gloves, and took the paper box from her. He looked at the bird inside for a moment and said, “I can take care of this bird, but once it’s healed, I can’t be sure it’ll stay here. You’re welcome to visit it anytime.”

After hearing this, DuoDuo smiled widely, her teeth showing.

She stood up, thanked him, and ran off, but not before turning around and explaining why she was in such a hurry: “A-Yan, thank you, but my parents are almost done cooking, so I have to go. I’ll come back tomorrow to check on it!”

Once she left, Yan Heqing lost the mood to continue working. He held the paper box and went into the house.

The house wasn’t big but was clean. After placing the box on the table where he ate, Yan Heqing searched for the medicine box in the corner of the cupboard. Unfortunately, all the common medicines inside had expired.

Helpless, Yan Heqing put on a thin jacket, took the paper box, and went out the door.

Fortunately, the bird’s injuries weren’t severe. The pet doctor’s treatment didn’t require much, and the total cost was within his budget.

When he returned home, it had only been half an hour.

The doctor had bandaged the bird thoroughly, wrapping it tightly like a mummy. Under the light, Yan Heqing noticed that the little red bird’s eyes were wide open, staring directly at him.

It was only then that he realized he hadn’t even asked for the bird’s name.

“What’s your name?”

The bird inside the box remained silent.

Yan Heqing changed his tone, this time trying to sound more forceful: “Don’t think I don’t know you’re not just any bird.”

Still no response from the bird, its green eyes still staring at him blankly.

“…”

Seeing that the bird was uncooperative, Yan Heqing’s temper started to rise, and his tone became even sterner: “Stop pretending. As a Vermilion Bird, how dare you appear here so openly? Aren’t you afraid I’ll turn you over to the authorities?”

“Don’t blame me if they take you for research later.”

As expected, the provoking words had an effect.

Although the little red bird didn’t make a big move, Yan Heqing could sense its shock from its body.

The bird’s reaction was exactly what he hoped for. Yan Heqing continued to “threaten” it: “Come on, tell me why you’re here. If you give a reasonable explanation, I might consider keeping you and not sending you to the research lab.”

At this point, a faint “cooing” sound came from the box, followed by a strange, childlike voice, weak and fluctuating: “I… I know… you… you are my…”

The rest of the sentence was difficult for the bird to say, and Yan Heqing couldn’t hear it clearly. He didn’t want to ask the bird to repeat it, as that might feel like abuse, so he just waved his hand, saying, “Alright, alright, don’t say it. It’s too difficult for me to understand.”

The little red bird inside the box immediately fell silent.

Yan Heqing rested his hands on the table, his body relaxed as he leaned forward, his head tilted as he gazed at the bird.

After a long while, he tentatively said, “Sorry, I meant that your injury makes it hard for you to speak, so I hope you’ll talk less and rest more.”

The little red bird grunted in response.

“I didn’t hear you introduce your name earlier. Now that we don’t have a name, it’s hard to communicate. How about I give you one?”

The little bird struggled and gave a loud “mm” in agreement.

Having received the bird’s permission, Yan Heqing’s eyes shifted, and he began looking through his vocabulary for a suitable name.

“I see you’re all red, with only your eyes being green. How about the name ‘Cuihong’ (Emerald Red)?”

Yan Heqing’s tone rose slightly, clearly pleased with his own idea.

The little red bird in the box didn’t respond.

But since the bird had already agreed to let Yan Heqing name it, it silently accepted the name.

After giving it the name, Yan Heqing yawned, feeling in a great mood. He found a cloth from his scrapyard to use as a blanket for the little bird.

“Good night, see you tomorrow, Cuihong!”

The bird inside the box weakly responded with a sound.

The next morning, shortly after the sunrise in Ningcheng, the door to the scrapyard was knocked loudly.

Hearing the noise, Yan Heqing, still groggy, rolled out of bed. After a couple of minutes of forcing himself to wake up, he reluctantly went to open the door.

When he opened it, he saw DuoDuo standing there with a big schoolbag on her back, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.

“A-Yan, I came to see the bird.”

Not having made any progress with his work and being forced to wake up early, Yan Heqing felt a headache. He turned around and led DuoDuo inside.

“Come in, but remember to go to school early. I’m not responsible if you’re late.”

DuoDuo slipped inside like a fish, leaving him behind.

The little bird, Cuihong, was sound asleep, its eyes tightly shut, not moving.

“Is it dead?” DuoDuo asked bluntly.

“It’s not dead. It’s just too early. It’s still sleeping soundly.”

“Does it have a name?”

“It does. Its name is Cuihong.”

“Cuihong?” DuoDuo repeated, then laughed, “A-Yan, you named it yourself, didn’t you?”

Yan Heqing wasn’t offended by the little girl’s teasing. He just kept reminding her not to forget school.

DuoDuo stayed a while longer, watching Cuihong, before rushing off to school.

After seeing her off at the gate, Yan Heqing turned around, only to see a naked man appear in his house.

The naked man was thin, clearly malnourished, and judging from his cheekbones, he was probably around DuoDuo’s age.

Seeing such a sight, Yan Heqing frowned, then his mind froze for a moment, and he finally managed to say, “Disgraceful. Truly no manners.”

…

“Is the Vermilion Bird’s body so strong? It’s recovering this quickly? Didn’t it barely speak yesterday?”

Three rapid-fire questions made Cuihong scratch its head.

It had only just started recovering, and now it occasionally chirped some bird sounds.

“I’m not a pure Vermilion Bird. The pure Vermilion Bird bloodline mostly disappeared thousands of years ago. By my generation, most of us have mixed bloodlines. My ability to transform comes from that tiny bit of Vermilion Bird blood. But I don’t have boundless power like the true Vermilion Birds.”

Yan Heqing nodded after hearing this, then asked, “Are there any other Vermilion Birds still alive?”

Cuihong hesitated for a moment before shaking its head. “No, I’ve never seen another Vermilion Bird since I started remembering things.”

After saying this, Cuihong lowered its head. A moment later, Yan Heqing felt a light pat on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Yan Heqing’s face very close, his eyes shining brightly in the light by the window.

“It’s okay. I’ll collect scrap and take care of you.”